Woohoo! I didn't abandon the story! I'm glad, because I think this thing actually has a plot after all (at least in my mind).
I'd like to thank Flirty Angel and omaomae who were the lone reviewers on the first chapter. So I'll thank you. Thank you! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did, it would mean I am Japanese, I can actually draw, and my name is Kubo Tite.
I've already kept you waiting for longer than necessary, so I hope you enjoy!
ooo
As Rukia walked towards the figure, she could already feel herself fading from her inner world. She hurried towards it, but as she was about to put her hand on the figure's shoulder, she woke up.
As she opened her eyes and craned her neck to look around, she noticed two things. First, that she was in a bed, in Urahara Shoten, most likely, judging by the furniture. And second, a stabbing pain at the base of her neck.
Rukia brought her hand to the affected zone, and realized it was heavily bandaged. How did this happen? she asked herself. The memories were dim, a hundred hollows, Ichigo, Aizen…
Aizen.
What had he done? Rukia touched gingerly touched her bandaged wound again. If he wanted to stab her, wouldn't his sword do the job just fine? And yet he had used the bizarre needle-like thing.
After pondering the dilemma for a couple of minutes, Rukia braced herself and forced her body to sit up, and then stand. She weakly half-walked, half-stumbled to the door, to the front of the store, where she hoped everyone would be.
ooo
Urahara, Ichigo Renji, and Byakuya were in a very…awkward silence. Ichigo had come back from calling Inoue and explaining the whole situation to her. And after informing the rest of the people in the room that she was on her way, nobody had anything to say anymore. Urahara and Byakuya seemed fairly calm, but the other two were starting to get fidgety. Renji was about to suggest to go and check on Rukia out of concern and an escalating need to break the silence, when fast footfalls were heard outside. A few seconds later, Orihime burst in through the door.
"Kurosaki-kun!" she exclaimed between pants. "I came as fast as…I could. Where…where is Kuchiki-san?"
Before Ichigo could answer, Urahara interceded, "Kuchiki-san is in a room in the back." He wasted no time on pleasantries and got up, "Follow me, if you please, Inoue-san."
The girl nodded, and walked towards the door, where the shopkeeper was headed. He opened the door, and was startled to see the person they were headed to see standing behind it.
"Kuchiki-san!" cried Orihime.
"Hello, Inoue," Rukia smiled weakly.
"Kuchiki-san! Are you alright? Kurosaki-kun told me what happened! Does it hurt? Can you let me heal you?" she human said so fast that it was a little surprising that anyone had understood.
"Er... Sure."
Orihime immediately got to work. She summoned her healing shield around Rukia and in less than a minute, the process was finished and the wound gone. She examined her neck, and was satisfied to find no trace of it. "Thanks, Inoue," she told her friend with a smile. "You're amazing."
Byakuya suddenly got up then. "I believe we have nothing else to do here now. We're leaving, Renji."
His captain's abruptness startled Renji yet again in the same afternoon. "Of course, taichou!"
Byakuya opened a Senkaimon and left the room without another word. Renji followed him promptly, pausing only to wave goodbye to his friends. Once they had left, Orihime said, "Byakuya-san surely left in a hurry. I wonder if he left something in the oven like I…Oh no! I left my strawberry tofu on the stove! See you later, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san, Urahara-san!" with that, she rushed out of the store and back to her home.
After a brief pause, Ichigo recovered and asked Rukia, "So, are you feeling better now, midget?"
"What? Do you doubt Inoue's healing abilities?" she shot back jokingly.
"Yeah, right. What I doubt is if you're tall enough to recover."
"What does height have to do with recovering?"
They left after thanking Urahara (or at least Rukia did) and continued bickering during the whole way home. Even so, they hurried. It was already getting late, and Ichigo's family, particularly Yuzu, would become worried if they didn't arrive soon. They had missed supper already.
Ichigo and Rukia walked in silence after finally running out of ways to insult each other. It was a rather comfortable silence, the type in which you just enjoy a very good friend's company.
"Rukia."
"What is it, carrot top?"
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ichigo's voice was serious.
"Of course I am, you idiot. Why wouldn't I be?"
Ichigo didn't have time to answer, since they had finally arrived home and in that precise moment he opened the door. His dad received him with a flying kick.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, old man?" Ichigo somehow managed to yell with Isshin's heel in his mouth.
"Punishing my unruly teenager of a son, of course!" he yelled back. "I wouldn't mind as much if you hadn't pulled Rukia-chan into your rebellious acts!"
"What sort of rebellious act are you talking about?"
"Ichi-nii, you took your time," Karin appeared and saved her father from a punch Ichigo was about to throw.
Yuzu, who was in the kitchen washing the dishes overheard the commotion and came to greet her older brother. "Onii-chan! Where were you? We were worried sick about you and Rukia-chan!"
"Sorry Yuzu. A…thing came up," was Ichigo's excuse. Hearing it, Karin's eyes narrowed slightly and she left with an indifferent expression plastered on her face.
"It was my fault," explained Rukia. "We were almost home, when I realized I forgot my…backpack….at school. We returned for it and then, walking back, I saw a beautiful, uh, bunny in an alley. He was so adorable I decided we should take him out of the town to a new home! Right Ichigo?" An almost sarcastic nod from the teenager. "But when we helped the bunny, Ichigo fell into a…ditch, and I had to go get help for him. And when Inoue and I finally got him out, it was already very late."
Isshin and Yuzu almost started crying.
"Don't worry, Rukia-chan, we forgive you!"
It was my horrible son's—"
"They bunny must feel so very—"
"—won't learn how to be a gentleman!"
"So nice to the bunny!"
"He's an idiot-!"
"Who's the idiot here, idiot?" Ichigo cut their crying off before he got insulted any more. "And anyway, I'm really tired after rescuing bunnies and," he glared at Rukia, "falling into ditches, so I'd like to sleep now. Good night!" With that, he dodged his father and headed to his room.
He heard Rukia saying good night to Isshin and going upstairs with Yuzu before he closed his door.
"Rukia-chan," said Yuzu as they climbed up the stairs. "We were really worried about Onii-chan and you today. So, if you could, please don't be late for dinner or anything, okay?"
Rukia was surprised by the girl's concern, especially since she didn't believe she knew Ichigo's little sister all that well. She smiled softly. "I can't promise anything, Yuzu, but I'll try my hardest."
Yuzu seemed satisfied by that answer.
When they entered the twins' bedroom, they saw that Karin was already in her pajamas, sprawled on her bed reading a book. When she heard the door open, she glanced up and gave Rukia a slightly suspicious look. Added to how she had so abruptly left when she had given her excuse for being late, Rukia almost feared she would try to question further. But she only went back to reading, much to the shinigami's relief.
Yuzu and Rukia readied themselves for sleep and after everyone was comfortably installed in their beds, Yuzu turned off the lights.
ooo
"So cold. There's nobody here. Why won't anyone appear?"
The same dream? Rukia moved between the trees, exploring her surrounding inside her inner world. The snowy forest seemed to stretch out forever. She encountered no living soul. Where was Sode no Shirayuki? Why hadn't she appeared yet? In the past times she had come into her inner world—to learn the First and Second dances, and years later, the Third—her zanpakutou's spirit was always waiting for her.
And yet, she was nowhere to be seen. Rukia continued walking around and, as had happened in the dream just a couple of hours earlier, she reached a clearing. It started snowing again. And…there it was. That person, clad in white. Again, it was turned away from her. As Rukia tried to walk toward it, the snowing intensified. And she trudged along. The snow had turned into a blizzard now, and Rukia could barely see the figure. She started shivering.
How can I feel cold in my inner world? Wondered Rukia dumbly.
It was impossible. Rukia was knee-high in snow now, and the distance to the figure, which had seemed no more than a couple of meters before, now appeared to be more than a hundred meters, and it wasn't getting closer.
Rukia couldn't keep her teeth from chattering. She turned slightly to protect her face from the biting cold and suddenly saw the beautiful spirit of Sode no Shirayuki at the edge of the clearing, watching her progress with an emotionless expression. Rukia tried to change her course toward the zanpakutou but the snow was too thick. She tripped and fell, and couldn't get up. She lay on the snow shivering.
ooo
"So why did you do that to Rukia-chan, Aizen-taichou?" drawled Gin.
"I don't even know why you bother to ask, Gin, as I am sure you already know the answer," answered Aizen.
"It's sooo much more fun when you tell me your plan like and evil genius."
"Well, I can't deny that I am and evil genius, except that the type you are thinking about tends to reveal too much about his plan and end up failing, demonstrating that he isn't really a genius."
"Oh, Aizen-taichou, you can be so boring sometimes!"
"I can assure you Gin; this plan will be quite amusing, at least to us."